Nobody gave the Phoenix Suns a chance to beat the defending champion Miami Heat on the road on the second of a back-to-back. Nobody was right. The Suns didn't have a chance and this one was over pretty much as soon as it started.

The first quarter started with an easy drive to the basket by Chris Bosh followed by a couple of quick buckets by Dwyane Wade. LeBron James cruised through with six points and six rebounds and the period ended with a buzzer-beating half court heave by Norris Cole and his hightop fade.

Little that happened after that in the Phoenix Suns 25-point loss to the Miami Heat mattered much.

James led the Heat with 23 points while Wade added 22, Bosh 18 and Ray Allen 15. The Suns saw Shannon Brown finish with a team-high 18 points.

Miami's offense finally seems to be living up to their potential after a few years of stagnant isolation play. They now look an awful like the Suns with their highly efficient, fast-paced pick and roll game. Utilizing a variety of ball handlers and roll men they force the defense to collapse quickly or get beat for a quick bucket in the lane. Even if the rotations are on point, Ray Allen is alone in the corner to drain a three after the ball swings quickly from inside to the perimeter to the open man.

That offense that used to be run by the Orange and Purple dropped 65 points on the Suns in the first half and shot 55 percent for the game. It was a clinic that seemed to only require about half-speed effort from LeBron.

The Suns kept things within striking distance to start the second half, but Miami stopped fooling around and dropped a 13-0 run in the middle of the third quarter to put the game away for good.

This was a highly forgettable game early in a long season that's likely to see many more results like Monday night's "contest".

Next up for the Suns is a team a bit more in their league. The squad faces the Bobcats in Charlotte on Wednesday to close out the road trip.

The Suns weren't expected to have much of a chance against the mighty Heat and they didn't disappoint.

The good news is this Phoenix Suns team isn't led by old folks who are burdened by playing back-to-back games. In fact, you could -- and probably should -- argue that the best possible thing for Alvin Gentry's youngish gaggle of misfits on Monday is to take their limited talents to South Beach and climb right back on the bucking bronco that is the NBA schedule.

There was a sweet time a few years back when confident Phoenix fans looked at "Miami" on the schedule and mentally assured themselves a win. Then a win would happen.

Now the golden hightop is on the other foot and the tanned gods and goddesses of South Florida are rightly convinced that they will be treated to a victory (once they bother to show up around halftime).

Knowing what we've seen from the Suns, it's pretty hard to argue with them. Also, they are just so damned good looking that any attempts at basketball discussion quickly dissolve into a drooling puddle of bikini mush. (And that's with the male Heat fans.)

Highly Detailed Analysis of Miami Heat Roster

LeBron James is amazing.

Game Schedule

The game starts at 7:30pm ET and likely will be over by 8:00pm ET. Doing some quick daylight savings time adjusted math, that means...carry the one...subtract the remainder...take off the shoes....that for Suns fans in sunny Arizona, be sure to have your TeeVees on by 5:30pm and you can confidently make dinner plans starting at 6:00pm.

The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona (the best Fox Sports in the entire state) and on NBA League Pass which is now free for a few more days. In Miami people can watch on something called "SunSpM" but honestly, if I lived in Miami and was a Heat fan I'd probably find a few other things to do tonight.

Quote and Power Ranking

Good quote aside, how striking is it to see Goran's English at this level. I guarantee you this quote a couple of years ago would have read: "I think so that third quarter defense was very, very horrible and that we play selfishly."

I miss that Goran.

And here we have weekly power rankings from Seth Rosenthal (aka lil Seth) who has the Suns in his top ten!

The good news is this Phoenix Suns team isn't led by old folks who are burdened by playing back-to-back games. In fact, you could -- and probably should -- argue that the best possible thing for Alvin Gentry's youngish gaggle of misfits on Monday is to take their limited talents to South Beach and climb right back on the bucking bronco that is the NBA schedule.

There was a sweet time a few years back when confident Phoenix fans looked at "Miami" on the schedule and mentally assured themselves a win. Then a win would happen.

Now the golden hightop is on the other foot and the tanned gods and goddesses of South Florida are rightly convinced that they will be treated to a victory (once they bother to show up around halftime).

Knowing what we've seen from the Suns, it's pretty hard to argue with them. Also, they are just so damned good looking that any attempts at basketball discussion quickly dissolve into a drooling puddle of bikini mush. (And that's with the male Heat fans.)

Highly Detailed Analysis of Miami Heat Roster

LeBron James is amazing.

Game Schedule

The game starts at 7:30pm ET and likely will be over by 8:00pm ET. Doing some quick daylight savings time adjusted math, that means...carry the one...subtract the remainder...take off the shoes....that for Suns fans in sunny Arizona, be sure to have your TeeVees on by 5:30pm and you can confidently make dinner plans starting at 6:00pm.

The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Arizona (the best Fox Sports in the entire state) and on NBA League Pass which is now free for a few more days. In Miami people can watch on something called "SunSpM" but honestly, if I lived in Miami and was a Heat fan I'd probably find a few other things to do tonight.

Quote and Power Ranking

Good quote aside, how striking is it to see Goran's English at this level. I guarantee you this quote a couple of years ago would have read: "I think so that third quarter defense was very, very horrible and that we play selfishly."

I miss that Goran.

And here we have weekly power rankings from Seth Rosenthal (aka lil Seth) who has the Suns in his top ten!